Twenty Million Voices
by Murgatroyd
Summary: A collection of my oneshot .hack stories. Latest: The Sword Which Has No Name – Every player in the game has their own goal...
1. Zawan Shin

Disclaimer: Dot Hack belongs to Project .hack, and the entities involved therein.  
That said, The World is a very big place. With twenty million players, the number of stories waiting to be told is literally countless. I am simply here to tell a few of those stories, without receiving any compensation beyond what little recognition my peers may grant me.

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Story 1: _Zawan Shin_

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**Ω Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel**

Endless night. An eternal raging blizzard, so fierce one can easily lose sight of one's party. With visibility this low, it is only natural that automapping doesn't work. As if the area wasn't unfriendly enough already, there are the monsters. Between the level of the monsters and the way one can stumble into portals with almost no warning, even skilled high level players can easily die within minutes. In the far reaches of the field, there is a mountain of ice. 

It is into this setting that a lone Wavemaster appears. Using every trick in the book, as well as some that are not, he makes his way through the blizzard, past the monsters, fighting only when it becomes unavoidable. He has no interest in these monsters, although if he were to stay and fight them, it would be the ideal way for him to level up. His goal is not down here on the field. 

Atop the mountain is the reason he has come here. When one reaches the top, the force of the blizzard diminishes greatly. There are no portals up here, for this is not a place to randomly level up. There is only a single monster, a lone Spectral Dragon. It has stood here, unbeaten, almost unscathed, for months. Many players, alone and in parties, have come here to challenge it. All have fallen, most without doing any damage whatsoever. This is said to be the greatest event in the game, though lately the rumors on the BBS say it is a broken event, unbeatable. 

_Zawan Shin_. There have even been arguments about what the name means. It is generally agreed that it comes from English, but there are two competing theories about exactly what words. On one side, there are those who call it The One Sin, saying it makes perfect sense given the area name, some also analyzing the symbolism behind the dragon. The other side calls it The One Thing, citing the uniqueness of the event. Of the countless fields in The World, there is no other with weather like this, no other ice mountain, no other monster like this one. There are also a few members who have suggested that the name may be deliberately ambiguous, encompassing both theories and possibly more. They are mostly ignored. 

The Wavemaster has reached the top. He stands before the dragon, observing it, motionless. It, too, stands still, as if waiting. Suddenly, the Wavemaster snaps into action, launching a half dozen spells in rapid succession. The beast reacts just as fast, its rainbow-colored breath engulfing its attacker. The Wavemaster falls back before the onslaught. Only seconds into the battle, he is afflicted with every status condition there is. Cursed, poisoned, paralyzed, with his magical and physical attack and defense reduced. From this attack alone, his hit points are in the red. And, to add insult to injury, he has not done a single point of damage to the dragon. 

It is exactly as he had expected. This matches the reports on the BBS perfectly. He restores his health to near perfect with a few items, and prepares to test his theory. He uses two more spells, carefully selected and timed. 

This time, a number appears above the dragon. Fifty hit points of damage, and the Wavemaster is unharmed. He turns and walks away, not trying to continue the battle. He has never completed an event, and is not about to start now. After all, he has a reputation to maintain. 

A few minutes later, a new message appears on the BBS. 

**Subject:** I know how to beat Zawan Shin   
**Poster:** WiseGuy   
**Message:** At 15:53 today, I tested a method of beating _Zawan Shin_. I was able to do damage to it without taking any hits in return. I will not reveal what the method is, as that would make things too easy for you, and would spoil the fun I have reading your reports of failure. Instead, I'll just sit back and laugh, after giving two pieces of advice. First, all the information I used in forming my hypothesis is available here on the BBS. And second, Forrest's strategy is not the way to go.   
Have fun.   
~WiseGuy 

Over the course of the next few hours, thousands of players see the message. At first, many think it may contain the secret, but when they notice who posted it, they realize their hopes were in vain, for this player is known for being singularly unhelpful. His reputation for knowing almost everything about the game is surpassed only by his reputation for never revealing that knowledge in a way that anyone else can use productively. Soon, the replies to the message have formed a discussion of failed tactics, possible strategies, and arguments on what that second bit of advice meant. Before long, the discussion has gone the way of all others on the BBS, bumped off the page by newer posts, and forgotten. 

Two weeks later, a new message appears, one that will long be remembered. The net poet known as W.B. Yeats posts a poem proclaiming the victory of Balmung and Orca over the dreaded beast, and giving them the names they will be known by ever after. 

And in a field rarely visited, the newly dubbed Descendants of Fianna meet a Wavemaster, who says, It was pretty easy once you figured out the trick, wasn't it?

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Author's Notes: This is my first .hack//fanfic, and is based on a piece of canon not many English speakers are familiar with. 


	2. Misrepresentation

Disclaimer: Dot Hack belongs to Project .hack, and the entities involved therein.  
That said, The World is a very big place. With twenty million players, the number of stories waiting to be told is literally countless. I am simply here to tell a few of those stories, without receiving any compensation beyond what little recognition my peers may grant me.

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Story 2: Misrepresentation

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I scan the crowds near the Chaos Gate of Mac Anu. Hundreds of players pass by before one catches my eye. It isn't that there's anything special about his appearance. That, in fact, is about as nondistinct as it's possible to be. It seems like these days every third Wavemaster is using that design, in almost those colors. Rather, what I notice is the way he moves, never quite in the direction he wants to go, colliding with other players, as if he's not quite used to the controls. That and his equipment. I've been playing long enough that I recognize the majority of weapons by sight, but that's hardly necessary here. Anyone who's played for more than a few days recognizes the basic Cypress Wand. And no one who's played for more than about a week still has one. There's no doubt about it, this guy's a newbie. Or perhaps I should say, an easy target. 

I wind my way through the crowd, getting into position. Before long, the newbie bumps into me, knocking me off my feet. Slipping into my role as a kind, experienced player, I reassure him as he apologises profusely.

It doesn't take long to draw him into conversation. Newbies are almost always eager to talk to someone, especially when things aren't going as planned. He says he'd made plans with a friend, to go to a dungeon, level up, and maybe get some better equipment. They'd meant to meet half an hour ago, but he was delayed, and by the time he got online, his friend had logged off. Now he is looking for someone else to go with. Apparently, he doesn't want to be stuck with the Cypress Wand any longer than he has to. I can't blame him.

He says his friend had a particular field in mind, one that wouldn't be impossible for a beginner like him, but he isn't sure enough of his skill to try it alone. Again, I can't blame him. No low level Wavemaster should go solo. Of course, no low level player who wants to survive should accompany me, either, but he can't be expected to know that. Staying in character, I ask him for the keywords to the field. I recognize it as a fairly good one: neither too difficult nor too easy, it's a good level for a newbie to gain experience, and there's a decent chance that he could upgrade his equipment there. Ironically, it's also one of the places I like to take my victims.

Being a kind, helpful individual, I offer to accompany him. He is every bit as grateful as most of them are, and seems most concerned that he's being a nuisance or wasting my time. I reassure him, and we're almost to the Chaos Gate before he asks the question I've been anticipating.

"Aren't you going to invite me to join your party?"

I don't want to form a party with him. That would involve giving him my member address, which would make it a lot easier for him to cause trouble for me later. I give him the line which has served me so well in the past: "You'll get more experience if I don't. If we're in a party, the experience will be split between us. You'll get twice as much if you do it without me in your party. I'll just be there ready to step in if you're in trouble."

Newbies are so gullible. He doesn't even ask any questions before agreeing. A minute later, we gate in to the field.

Turns out the kid's actually got some real potential. For two levels of the dungeon, I hardly have to step in at all, except for a couple of times when his SP runs out in mid-fight, or occasionally for healing. At times it's hard to believe this is the same player who was so awkward in the Root Town. It almost seems a shame to kill him. Almost.

As we make our way down to the third level, our conversation turns to game terminology. For the most part, I'm actually helpful, only giving a few completely irrelevant explanations. He's completely off guard, and doesn't suspect a thing when I ask a simple, innocuous question.

"Tell me, are you familiar with the term—" I strike in midsentence "—'PK'?"

That should have been the end of him. Instead, he turns around and says, "That kind of hurt."

The only way a Wavemaster could have survived that blow is if he were at a level far above mine. But that would mean...

I notice that he is no longer holding the level 1 Cypress Wand he had when we entered the dungeon. Rather, he has an exceptionally ugly staff. If I remember correctly, its level is somewhere in the 40s and its name is "Heh Heh Heh". I get the feeling he is trying to convey a message.

Then, once again, he is holding a different staff. It appears to be a rod of very dark wood, unornamented except for intricate carvings along its entire length. I've never seen anything like it in the game before, but judging from the sheer amount of detail in its design, it has to be quite rare, and probably powerful to boot.

Obviously, this is no newbie. I select a Sprite Ocarina from my inventory.

"It won't do any good," he says. I ignore him and activate the item. It doesn't do any good; I'm still right where I was. He continues speaking. "The Crimson Knights have a suspected cheat item maker cornered up on the second level. They've got a barrier up. No one's getting out of this dungeon for a while."

I back up, trying to keep a few options open. Somehow, though, I get the feeling it's futile.

The look on his face as he moves forward is now downright frightening. I make a mental note to look up whether the motion command "/evilgrin" exists.

"PK. Player Killing. Refers to an act where one player deliberately attacks another, causing sufficient damage to kill the other. A serious nettiquette violation. Player Killers often get their kicks by targeting unsuspecting newbies, offering to help and then killing them somewhere in the dungeon."

He raises his staff.

"Tell me, are you familiar with the term 'PKK'?"

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Author's Notes: I managed to get it finished before the end of the year. By about 10 minutes. 


	3. The Sword Which Has No Name

Disclaimer: Dot Hack belongs to Project .hack and/or the .hack Conglomerate, and the entities involved therein.  
That said, The World is a very big place. With twenty million players, the number of stories waiting to be told is literally countless. I am simply here to tell a few of those stories, without receiving any compensation beyond what little recognition my peers may grant me.

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Story 3: _The Sword Which Has No Name_

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The Demon King was dead. I opened the treasure chest, and checked the name of the sword that emerged. _Joyeuse_. A rare among rare items, but this was not the sword I was looking for. The sword I seek has no name.

In my years playing the game, I have seen a great many swords, from the Basic Sword I started with to the Vorpal Blade, from Fair Soul to Souleater. My collection includes Demon Killer and Godslayer, Excalibur and Kusanagi. I once had both Gram and Nothung, until I sold them to a player by the name of Balmung. In combat I use Hrunting, a good sword which has only failed me once, in a rare underwater battle. Many names indeed, both famous and not, belong to the swords I have collected. But none of them is the sword I seek, the sword which has no name.

My quest started when I was new to The World. I had just left the dungeon where I had found a new weapon, the Singing Blade, when I met him. To this day, I am not certain whether he was PC or NPC; his appearance was unlike any other player I have met, but I believe it to be just within the bounds of what is possible using the standard character creation system. He looked like a small Wavemaster, the size of a child. He wore robes of blue, with watery patterns around the hems, and a hood which concealed his face. I didn't see where he came from; in fact, I didn't notice him at all until he spoke. "What is the name of your sword?" he asked me. When I told him, he said, "That is a good sword, but it is not the greatest; rumor speaks of a sword which has no name."

After that, he was silent. I tried to ask him to tell me more, but he did not answer. He just walked off into the shadows of the dungeon, and when I tried to follow, I could not find him. I really had no idea what had just happened, except that it seemed like it might be the start of an event, a quest. Even so, he hadn't exactly given me any information about how to proceed, so I had to look elsewhere for guidance. I posted on the BBS, asking for rumors about swords. And I got answers. Rumor did indeed speak of many swords, and did not name most of them. So my search began, the search for the sword which has no name.

Upon investigation, many of the rumors proved baseless, but others led me onward, sometimes to great discoveries, even to a few weapons which I believe to be unique in the game. I was the one who found the Sword of Ice, in a cave concealed by a raging blizzard. It was I who found Claíomh Solais, hidden in plain sight in the middle of Lia Fail. I was the first to make my way to the heart of the Living Labyrinth, and so I obtained its greatest treasure, the Twilight Sword. Hints in a thread with the unlikely title "The Folly of Bigfeet" led me to a cavern where I found a sword with the equally unlikely name of _Nothing_. Great - or at least interesting - swords, all of them, but all of them were named. None was the sword I seek, the sword which has no name.

Today, too, I had ended back where I began. Another event completed, another rumor to check off my list, and another level 97 sword to add to my collection. It had been a good day. The information I had bought was accurate, the boss monster had been in the right place, and the treasure had indeed been a sword. That alone made it better in all respects than last week, when I spent all week following cryptic clues with nothing more to show for the effort than a handful of Fortune Wires. That the sword was highly valuable, and that I had earned the goodwill of the pair of experienced adventurers who had joined my party for the search, made this one of the better days this year. But I had not yet found the sword I seek. So I went on, to once more start searching for the sword which has no name.

There are those who tell me that such a sword does not exist - cannot exist - in the game. They say that every item must have a name, that if it did exist someone would have found it by now, that I'm a fool for trusting such an obviously untrustworthy source. They may even be right. It does not matter. I have my Quest. So long as I am here in The World, I will continue to search for the sword which has no name.

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Author's Notes: All the swords here but one come from either the .hack games or from literary or historical sources. 


End file.
